Roses in a Wicker Basket Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 14" 40 x 35cm
Trees from the Tower Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 14 x 18" 35 x 45cm
Roses on a Dark Background Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 19.5 40 x 50cm
Harika en Guard Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 10 x 14 25 x 35cm
Oleander Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 19.5 x 16" 50 x 40cm
Mown (Pieve di Trebbio) Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 18" 30 x 45cm
View From Pieve di Trebbio Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 24" 40 x 60cm
Rock-hard Pears Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 18" 30 x 45 cm
Today we painted at the Pieve di Trebbio, an old church site
at the edge of Rocca Malatina. We’ve
been painting with a new found friend here in Rocca. She is from Milan, only here for the summer,
but she has been a dream. While Blair
and I can paint together, sometimes a third person gives us the impetus we need
to GET OUT THERE.
Rocca Malatina has been agog with activity. We just celebrated Ferragosto, the feast of
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
There was a procession, with men bearing the Mary statue on their
shoulders, followed by the Rocca Malatina band, and a collection of “the
faithful”. That evening there was a
community dinner (in fact, the fifth night of community dinners), followed by
dancing and fireworks. On Sunday last
we went to see the clowns, who entertained children and adults alike.
We went to lunch on Ferragosto at a friend’s house. There were 28 at the table, which gives me
confidence for the 9 I have scheduled tomorrow.
I have been astounded that we have so much personal interaction
here. In fact, we were never so busy in
Paris. People stop by with baskets of
tomatoes and zucchini, or just to visit.
Of course, there are the Moroccan “touts” who come by with rolling
baskets of dish towels and Kleenex, underwear and potted plants. I almost always buy something.
Harika had a traumatic visit this week from a German shepherd
who was “on the loose” – the big dog chased Harika, crying and barking, around
the yard, before Blair was able to remove it.
Harika barked for over an hour and seems permanently affected (PTSD). The next day a friend, who has multiple dogs,
came by and had a remedy. It is a bottle
which plugs into an outlet, giving off a vapor (all natural, of course), to
calm the pet. Harika became unusually
docile and quite affectionate. I had to
turn it off during the night.
We’ve painted all around our yard with our painter
friend. She helps me see what used to be
just a boring rock-hard-pear tree in an entirely new light. Whenever I paint a lot, especially outdoors,
I see beauty everywhere. Yesterday I
found myself admiring how good the flies look in the golden sunshine, against a
dark background: yikes.
3 views
Assumption Acrylic/newspaper Laurie Fox Pessemier 17 x 24"41 x 63cm
